"Decrease the speed and let the machine work at its own rhythm:" Best Greenworks tool manual line for corded snowblower

So I'm about to plug in this new toy - as the neighbor needs plowing - and also for any farm-sitting snow - this should lighten the load for otherwise intensive shoveling exercise. It can be dangerous to work the heart too fast unless someone is in really good shape. haha. Why take the risk? Playlist on 13 amp corded snowblowers and similar models

  I was snow blowing approximately 4 inches of snow with remarkable ease. It was throwing snow just about as far as my gas powered snow thrower which was a 21 inch Troy Built which was in for repair at this time.

 So this has no drive so it still requires a lot of exercise to push. The reviews say their Cordless snowblower loses charge fast IF the power control board does not fail. So you have to buy extra 80 volt batteries - and it ends up costing almost $1000. Nope - not worth it. Also the bigger batteries apparently don't fit well - maybe they fixed that problem. I don't know. I'm not gonna risk that - besides with global warming we probably will have less snow - I know we did last year.

I have used it for four hours and no issues. I recommend this blower.

 The chute which the snow is blown through shoots the snow SIGNIFICANTLY less if the chute is angled off to the side. the only time i got good throwing distance and speed is if the chute was faced directly forward, which means id be clearing snow twice. Also, the chute would not stay angled and would constantly get pushed up by the snow coming through the chute (made sure it was extremely tight as well), so it was more of a snow fountain than a snow thrower.

  You also have to stop to adjust the angle of the spout constantly because the force of the snow coming out pushes the spout upward.

I already had 10 gauge 100 foot cord that a local car mechanic was raving about this summer - and I barely used the cord. 

When using 150 feet extension cords, you’ll need a: 

• 14 Gauge for 1-7 Amps
• 12 Gauge for 8-10 Amps
• 10 Gauge for 11-15 Amps

 Extension cord required for ideal use is like $150 for subzero flexibility then you still had to worry about managing the stiff cord each pass.

  I've moved about 14" of snow so far without incident.

  My only gripe is the cord holder won't fit my 14 amp cord. Not a big problem, I just wrapped it around the handle.

  If you want to go 100' you should buy a gas snowblower... otherwise you need an extension cord that costs more than this unit (8-10 gauge).

 Finally people say to spray the chute and scraper with silicone - and I have silicone spray.

 At first the snow was clogging the chute but a spray of silicone took care of it. I really couldn't believe how quickly it cleaned the driveway. I've included a before and after photo.

The machine was even able to cut through the mound left by the snowplow. ( at 10 pm when the stuff was freezing)

Luckily it is snowing now but not much snow yet - just some flakes. Hopefully it will accumulate. 

 I can tell you right now shoving it will take a chance on braking the scraper blade which is replaceable but you will also end up damaging the the belly on which the scraper blade attaches to which is not replaceable

I had great experience working all the cordless Greenworks lawn tools this summer - working 20 lawns - using the power dethatcher for weeding - and the lawn mower was put through solid use. It held up to taking beatings for sure. The leaf blower worked great. I had lots of batteries so I never ran out. I could work all day if I wanted to.

 A hole wears into the main frame on this snowblower with regular use. This causes snow to come into the unit and force the belt off the main drive - thus rendering the snowblower useless. I've had this problem occur twice in less than three years of use and Snow Joe will no longer fix the problem

 The chute sprays snow out the side, and snow/slush accumulates in the side wells and body voids that house the wires and belts. If you live in an area with freeze/thaw cycles you have an excellent chance of growing a block of ice that will cause the unit to seize.

 

 I found out the SnoJo uses a plastic drive wheel and a rubber belt to drive the auger. Over time the belt loosens and the plastic gear wears and slips more and more. Then you find out that SnoJo never has replacement parts available. So every 3 years you have to buy a new one.

 But snow blowing is a totally different story so I was not surprised to learn that cordless electric battery snowblowers just do not really work. Using the Grid power with a 13 amp motor should do a much better job as long as the gauge cord is big enough to not create resistance. So the cord would have cost as much as the snow blower - or "thrower" - with a chute. So since I already had the cord and I was not using it much - as I shredded most of the leafs with the lawn mower - then it was time to try out the cord for snow removal.

https://www.m-and-d.com/solr/words/greenworks/scraper.html

The scraper will have to be replaced each season. It's only $10 or so.

 

 Somebody sandwiched some "baler belt" behind their scraper - on another snowblower.

https://www.americasbelting.com/Baler-Belts-Accessories

I had not heard of "baler belt" before but looks pretty intense.

 Making sure the scraper bar is sharp and has a tight fit to the bucket bottom will help it slice under the snow and hold the collector down.

 if you bolted a couple pieces of angle iron on the housing facing forward about 10" past the bucket they would dig into the eod before the blower got there and help hold it from riding up. Sorta like tusks on an elephant.

EOD means "end of driveway" - hilarious!!!

 OK so I tied the cord around the handle - just as one of the reviews recommended - and the snowblower worked awesome - it scraped right down to the pavement - and ice. Oops. Better to leave that layer of snow. 

So I left it for now - with the cord attached - and it fit into the garage just fine.

The mechanism for turning the discharge chute has a tendency to freeze tight.

So this is a 2 horsepower snowblower.

So the discontinued Menards Yardworks 13 amp corded snowblower appears to be precisely the same as the continued Greenworks snowblower. Very interesting!!

  they sold me a complete "Impeller Assembly", item #31118100, it arrived a few days later and today I installed. The Pulley Nut was 23 mm and is left hand thread, it was very tight, it took two guys to break it loose. Also the new Impeller Assembly is no longer Plastic, it is Steel now,

 wow - cool to know.

Adjustment of the chute angle requires loosening the two "butterfly" nuts; on the Yardworks the chute angle is easily adjusted with the push of a button.

Nuts on blades were loose. Pre-inspection tightening needed.

 Nuts in Chute area loosen up during use and need to be tightened to avoid losing them in the snow.

 Its weak link is the 'universal joint' where the crank/rod assembly which turns the plastic discharge shoot links up to the shoot. The bracket at the end of the rod spread apart, coming off the assembly , however could be squeezed together and reinstalled.

 When I rotated mine, felt like spring notch inside holding it in different position.

 https://www.hooverfence.com/garage-door-notched-spring-anchor-bracket

 Notched Spring Anchor Bracket

 Maybe it's something like that?

For less than 3" of snow, I was disappointed with the throw distance until I walked faster. I was trying to baby it, but it needs the momentum to toss the smaller volumes of snow.

Don't forget to brush off snow after each usage. So far, I am satisfied with it.

The only thing is you have to be careful because there are a few plastic parts in it that could get damaged if misused. I usually warm it up for 3 minutes.